Under Florida Statute 794.011, the crime of Sexual Battery is committed when a person has non-consensual oral, anal, or vaginal contact with another person using their sexual organ or an object.

In addition to the standard crime of Sexual Battery, there are several enhanced forms of Sexual Battery that can be committed in Florida.

Aggravating Circumstances

The victim is physically helpless to resist.

The victim is coerced into submission by threats of force or violence likely to cause serious personal injury and the victim reasonably believed the present ability to execute the threat.

The victim is coerced into submission by threats to retaliate against the victim, or any other person, and the victim reasonably believes that the offender has the ability to execute the threat in the future.

The victim is unknowingly and without consent drugged so that they are mentally or physically incapacitated.

The victim was taken advantage of due to a known mental defect.

The victim is physically incapacitated.

The offender is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer, or any other person in a position of control or authority, or a person reasonably believed to be in a position of control or authority as an agent or employee of government.

Lewd or Lascivious Battery

In Florida, Lewd or Lascivious Battery, more commonly known as statutory rape, criminalizes consensual sexual intercourse with a child older than 12, but younger than 16.

Under Florida Statute 800.04(4), the crime of Lewd or Lascivious Battery is committed when a person:

engages in sexual activity with a child older than 12, but younger than 16; or

encourages, forces, or entices a child older than 12, but younger than 16, to engage in sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, prostitution, or any other act involving sexual activity.

Strict Liability Crime

Lewd or Lascivious Battery is a strict liability crime, meaning ignorance of the child’s age is not a defense. The reason Lewd and Lascivious Battery is a strict liability crime is to counteract the commonly raised defenses that:

The child’s real age was unknown, thus making the sexual activity with the child unintentional; or

The child consented to the sexual act, thus putting the responsibility to decline the sexual advance on the child.

Penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Battery

The crime of Lewd and Lascivious Battery is a Second Degree Felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison, fifteen years of sex offender probation, and a $10,000 fine.

Under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code, Lewd and Lascivious Battery is assigned a Level 8 offense severity ranking and, absent prior criminal history or grounds for a downward departure sentence, a judge is required to sentence a person convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Battery to a minimum sentence of 7¾ years in prison followed by at least two years of sex offender probation. [1]

A person sentenced to prison for Lewd or Lascivious Battery is ineligible for gain time and must serve the entirety of their prison sentence, day-for-day. [2]

Civil Consequences

A person convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Battery would not only be placed on sex offender probation, but would also be designated a sexual offender.

As a result, the person would be required to comply with sexual offender registration laws in Florida and throughout the United States for the remainder of their lives.

Romeo and Juliet Exception

The only exception to the mandatory sex offender designation is if the person falls under Florida’s “Romeo and Juliet” law.

This law allows certain individuals to petition the court to be excluded from the sex offender registry. However, you can only petition for exclusion if the facts of your crime meet very specific eligibility requirements.

Lewd or Lascivious Molestation

Under Florida Statute 800.04(5), the crime of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation is committed when a person intentionally touches the breasts, genitals, or buttocks of a child younger than 16 in a lewd or lascivious manner; or encourages, forces, or entices a child younger than 16 to touch another person in a lewd or lascivious manner.

Definition of “Lewd or Lascivious”

The words “lewd” and “lascivious” are synonymous (mean the same thing) and are defined as a wicked, lustful, unchaste, licentious, or sensual intent on the part of the person doing an act.

Strict Liability Crime

Lewd or Lascivious Molestation is a strict liability crime. The reason Lewd and Lascivious Molestation is a strict liability crime is to counteract the commonly raised defenses that:

The child’s real age was unknown, thus the sexual activity with the child was unintentional; or

That the child consented to the sexual act, thus putting the responsibility to decline the sexual advance on the young child.

Penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Molestation

The penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Molestation are determined by whether the offender was an adult or a minor and also by whether the child-victim was under the age of 12.

Lewd or Lascivious Conduct

Lewd or Lascivious Conduct criminalizes the touching of a child younger than 16 in a lewd or lascivious manner that falls short of lewd or lascivious molestation.

Definition of Lewd or Lascivious Conduct

Under Florida Statute 800.04(6), the crime of Lewd or Lascivious Conduct is committed when a person intentionally touches a child under 16 years of age in a lewd or lascivious manner or solicits a child under 16 years of age to commit a lewd or lascivious act.

The reason Lewd and Lascivious Battery is a strict liability crime is to counteract the commonly raised defenses that:

The child’s real age was unknown, thus making the sexual activity with the child unintentional; or

The child consented to the sexual act, thus putting the responsibility to decline the sexual advance on the child.

Definition of “Lewd or Lascivious”

The words “lewd” and “lascivious” are synonymous (mean the same thing) and are defined as a wicked, lustful, unchaste, licentious, or sensual intent on the part of the person doing an act.

Strict Liability Crime

The child’s real age was unknown, thus the sexual conduct with the child was unintentional; or

That the child consented to the sexual conduct, thus putting the responsibility to decline the sexual advance on the young child.

Penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Conduct

The penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Conduct depend on whether the offender was a minor or an adult when the Lewd and Lascivious Conduct was committed.

Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition

Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition criminalizes intentional sexual performance in the presence of a child younger than 16.

Definition of Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition

Under Florida Statute 800.04(7), the crime of Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition is committed when a person intentionally masturbates; exposes their genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner; or commits other sexual act in the presence of a child, such as sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, or the simulation of any act involving sexual activity in the presence of a child younger than 16.

Strict Liability Crime

Importantly, Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition is a strict liability crime. The reason Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition is a strict liability crime is to counteract the commonly raised defenses that:

The child’s real age was unknown, thus the sexual conduct with the child was unintentional; or

That the child consented to the sexual conduct, thus putting the responsibility to decline the sexual advance on the young child.

Penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition

The penalties for Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition depend on whether the offender was a minor or an adult when the Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition was committed.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism refers to the act of secretly observing someone in an intimate state, usually out of sexual interest or for sexual gratification.

Definition of Voyeurism

Under Florida Statute 810.14, the crime of Voyeurism is committed when a person, with lewd, lascivious, or indecent intent, secretly observes:

another person in a private dwelling, structure, or conveyance and such location provides a reasonable expectation of privacy; or

another person’s intimate areas that are covered in a manner exhibiting a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Intimate Area

The term “intimate area” is defined as the portion of a person’s body or undergarments that is covered by clothing and intended to be protected from public view.

Penalties for Voyeurism

A first offense of Voyeurism is a First Degree Misdemeanor punishable by up to twelve months of jail, twelve months of probation, and a $1,000 fine. If convicted of a first offense of Voyeurism, a judge may impose any combination of jail, probation, or fines.

Additionally, unlike many crimes, a person convicted of Voyeurism will have a permanent criminal record and is ineligible to ever have their related criminal records sealed.

Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender

Definition of Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender

Under Florida Statute 943.0435(2), the crime of Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender is committed when a sexual offender or predator knowingly fails to comply with Florida’s sexual offender or sexual predator registration requirements.

Penalties for Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender

Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender is a Third Degree Felony punishable by up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.

Under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code, Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender is assigned a Level 7 offense severity ranking and, absent prior criminal history or grounds for a downward departure sentence, a judge is required to sentence a person convicted of Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender to a minimum sentence of 21 months in prison.

Impact of Prior Criminal Record

Since a sexual offender or sexual predator must have been convicted of a sexual offense to qualify as a sexual offender or predator in the first place, a judge is often required to sentence a person convicted of Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender to an even higher minimum prison sentence than 21 months in prison under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code.

Unlawful Residency by a Sex Offender

State and local law impose restrictions on where certain convicted sex offenders may live after serving their sentence. Florida state law prohibits those convicted of certain sex crimes against a child under 16 years of age from living within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, playground, park or other place frequented by children.

Some county and municipal ordinances impose even more restrictive residency requirements. For example, in Miami-Dade County, certain registered sex offenders are prohibited from living within 2,500 feet of a school, day care center, park or playground. The county also recently added "child safety zones" to its ordinance, which prohibits sex offenders from loitering within the 300 feet extending from schools, day cares, parks and school bus stops.

State law also places restrictions on where certain registered sex offenders may work. In cases where the victim was a minor, sex offenders cannot volunteer or work at any business, school, day care, park, playground or other place where children regularly are present.

Are You Looking for a Sex Crime Attorney in Tampa?

If you need representation for any of these crimes, McCulloch Law is here to fight for you. We are here to give each of our clients the most professional legal counsel and representation in the state of Florida.

McCulloch Law P.A.

Time is of the essence when it comes to putting a case together for you. Please do not hesitate to contact our experienced Criminal Justice Attorney and legal team at McCulloch Law P.A. in Tampa, FL Visit Our Office 238 East Davis Boulevard Ste 202 Tampa, FL

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